Aeroplan Announces Campaign to Match Miles Donated by Members to its Charitable Partners

More than 11 million miles donated last year by Aeroplan and its members

MONTREAL, Feb. 5, 2015 /CNW Telbec/ - Aeroplan today announced that it will match all miles donated by members to each of the ten Beyond Miles charitable partners as part of 2015 "Aeroplan Match Days." Miles will be matched on a 1-for-1 basis up to 500,000 Aeroplan Miles for each Beyond Miles partner organization. This year, each organization has chosen its own match week and in turn, Aeroplan will match miles during the specified period.

To donate miles, members simply visit www.aeroplan.com/donate where they can choose to donate to: The Air Canada Foundation, The David Suzuki Foundation, Engineers Without Borders, Free The Children, Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders, MusiCounts, Schools Without Borders, The Stephen Lewis Foundation, Veterinarians without Borders and War Child Canada. Each of these ten Canadian organizations is committed to improving lives and enriching communities across Canada and abroad.

"Last year, Aeroplan and its Members donated an incredible 11.6 million miles to our Beyond Miles partners during Aeroplan's Mile Match Days," said Kevin O'Brien, Chief Business Development Officer, Canada, Aimia. "Thanks to our members' generosity, every mile donated makes a huge difference to these organizations. Miles are used for flights to help offset travel costs and support our partners and their projects in communities across the world as well as for raffles to raise money for the charity, hotel and car rentals and even for merchandise such as a laptop."

Aeroplan's Mile Matching Days will be held during the following timeslots in 2015:

The Stephen Lewis Foundation – February 16 – 22nd - The Stephen Lewis Foundation works with community-level organizations which are turning the tide of HIV/AIDS in Africa by providing care and support to women, orphans, grandmothers and people living with HIV and AIDS.David Suzuki Foundation – March 2 – 8 - The David Suzuki Foundation's mission is to protect the diversity of nature and our quality of life, now and for the future.Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF)– April 13 -19th- MSF provides medical care to people caught in many kinds of catastrophes around the world, including armed conflicts, natural disasters such as floods and earthquakes, epidemics of disease and malnutrition crises.Free The Children – May 25 – 31st - Free The Children is an international charity and educational partner that believes in a world where all young people are free to achieve their fullest potential as agents of change.War Child Canada – June 8 -14th - War Child helps rebuild war-affected communities to provide the support necessary for children to experience a stable childhood.Schools Without Borders – Aug 24 – 30th – Schools Without Borders' mission is to change the face of education by taking learning outside of the classroom and into the world. Engineers Without Borders – September 21- 28th - Engineers Without Borders Canada invests in systemic innovations and Systems Change Leaders to create a world free from poverty and inequitable development, a world of dignity and equal opportunity where everyone is able to realize their full potential.Veterinarians without Borders – Oct 26 - Nov 1st - Veterinarians without Borders - Canada works with those in need to foster the health of animals, people and the environments in which they interact.MusiCounts – Nov 23 – 29th - MusiCounts' mission is to ensure that children in Canada, regardless of socio-economic circumstances and cultural background, have access to music programs through their schools and communities.The Air Canada Foundation – Dec 7 – 13th - Through the Air Canada Foundation's Hospital Transportation program, The Air Canada Foundation helps sick children reach medical treatment not available in their community.

Since the program was launched in 2006, more than 420 million Aeroplan Miles have been donated by members. Beyond Miles partners use Aeroplan Miles to offset costs related to travel by air as well as hotel accommodations and car rentals. Aeroplan offsets 100 per cent of all carbon emissions from flights taken by Beyond Miles partners using donated miles. In 2015, Aeroplan already donated 1 million miles to each of its partner organizations. Aeroplan Members can also automatically donate two percent of all miles accumulated to any Beyond Miles partner of the member's choice. Members interested in donating two percent of their Aeroplan Miles simply visit their profile page on aeroplan.com, select the donation opt-in and the Beyond Miles partner they would like their miles to go to. In addition, Aeroplan also has a Charitable Pooling program that allows members to use miles to support local grass roots charities in need. More information is available at www.aeroplan.com/donate.

Aeroplan's millions of members earn Aeroplan Miles with its growing network of over 75 world-class partners, representing more than 150 brands in the financial, retail, and travel sectors.

In 2014, approximately 2.7 million rewards were issued to members including 1.9 million flights on Air Canada and Star Alliance carriers which offer travel to more than 1,300 destinations worldwide. In addition to flights, members also have access to over 1,000 exciting specialty, merchandise, hotel, car rental and experiential rewards.